


When The Crickets Sing

by taruhi



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe, Friendship, I'll probably add it when this is done, Implied Relationships, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Mystery, Ouma not Oma, References to Canon, There's no graphic violence but there are descriptions of dead bodies, if anyone can guess what it is congratulations, there's another tag I would add but it's a huge spoiler
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-19
Updated: 2018-12-27
Packaged: 2019-07-14 11:35:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16039682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taruhi/pseuds/taruhi
Summary: His stomach twisted painfully and his eyelids forced themselves closed, too late to hide from the sight already carved deep into his retinas.He could taste the blood permeating the air. He could see the ugly red defiling the floor and, over the buzz of the evening crickets, he could hear hysterical crying into a phone call.There was something very wrong about that final summer.「Non-game AU. After the sudden death of his friend, Shuichi looks back on and tries to make sense of those final summer days. Alternate title: Beautiful Was Our Final Summer.」





	1. July 6th

"Jeez, Saihara-chan. You're making me wanna cry," Kokichi Ouma declares, putting a hand to his heart as he's refused access to Shuichi's phone.

"For the last time - I'm not just letting you text whoever you want, Kokichi. Last time you did that, my uncle thought I was dead for four hours." the male answers, pocketing his phone and putting a hand to his forehead (the time before it was maybe seven. It's one of the things that varies).

They're at the same old park they've been to a thousand times. It's near Rantarou's house, and they're waiting for the green-haired boy to appear with Miu and Kaito. As such, they've chosen to waste their time on the swing sets, occasionally using said swings for their intended purpose but mostly just fooling around on their phones. It had rained earlier that day, and the smell of earth and woodsmoke lingers heavy in the air. Even so, it remains painfully humid - Kokichi had folded his checkered scarf into a fan and is now attempting (in vain) to use it to cool himself off. Despite the heat, the thick air and the incessant cry of the crickets in the grass, it's still a relatively pleasant afternoon. The skies have cleared dramatically, grey cloud parting to reveal a pale blue sky.

"Hey, Shuichi," Kokichi chirps with a grin, linking his fingers behind his head and leaning back. "Think Amami-chan and Momota-chan are handling that kinkfreak? I wouldn't be surprised if she's kidnapped them and is having her way with them in her basement right now."

Shuichi stares at his friend in questioning amusement, raising an eyebrow and looking him in the eyes. "Uh, right. It's not like I just got a text from Kaito to tell us that they'll be here in a couple minutes."

The purple haired boy shrugs calmly, still smiling widely. "You should've known that was a total lie, Saihara-chan! We've been friends for years, haven't we? I'm hurt that you don't know me well enough to pick up on even that," Kokichi hums, smile dropping from his face and an expression of mock hurt replacing it. His violet eyes threaten tears. However, this too splits into his trademark grin. "Ah, but that was a lie too! I'm not mad at you. I'd never get worked up over something so petty - oh, there's Momota-chan, Amami-chan and the pervert!"

This was not a lie. A familiar head of avocado green hair (how does Amami get away with that at school?) appears, its owner leaning against the fence with a relaxed smile. "Hey, Shuuichi, Kokichi. Hope we didn't keep you waiting too long."

Saihara and Ouma speak at the same time, with very different answers. Kokichi's was, "Rantarou! You don't understand! We've been stuck here in a time loop," Saihara winces (does Ouma really have to say things like that?), "for years, and now you're trapped too!" 

Shuuichi's is the truth - "It's fine," he runs a hand through his hair, "We only got here about ten minutes ago."

Kokichi scowls cartoonishly, looking at Saihara out of the corner of his eyes. "C'mon, Saihara-chan! You totally blew my cover! He would've believed it if you hadn't said that! Now we have to kill them all in order to appease the giant killer bear keeping us here!"

"K-Killer bear?" Miu stutters, "Is that one of your fetishes? I'd be down for -"

Kaito, obviously eager to end the conversation about time loops and human sacrifices, quickly interrupts Ouma, who's beginning a reply. "Hey, that's enough of that. We're here now, so what should we do? I saw an ice cream truck on the way here and I brought a couple thousand yen. I'll pay for anyone but Kokichi. You guys in?" 

The others readily agree, and Kokichi, feigning a look of betrayal and muttering something about purple hair, keeps walking behind them no matter how many times Miu tries to convince them to 'dump the asshole gremlin with Rantarou's sisters', much to the aforementioned brother-of-literally-twelve-sister's amusement, self-declared-evil-dictator's mock horror and Shuuichi's bemusement.

* * *

It would be another week before Shuichi next saw Kokichi. 

 


	2. July 13th

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 12:42am

_The stars don't shine over Tokyo,_ Shuichi Saihara thinks to himself, staring up at the sky outside his local convenience store. He'd drunk far too much coffee earlier that day, was unable to sleep, and eventually decided that now was as good a time as any to get groceries. The boy frowns down at his shopping list, trying to make out the hastily scrawled characters.

"Uh, milk, eggs, sugar..." he mumbles to himself, squinting down at his smudged, practically illegible writing. He wishes (among other things) he had Kaede's beautiful calligraphy skills - she always takes over the aesthetic part of group projects. "Oh, ramen, I guess..?" Saihara gives a tired sigh, shoving the list into his pocket and deciding that he'll just buy the essentials anyway.

Shielding his eyes from the white glare of the store's lights, he walks quickly in, grabbing a basket from beside the door. Colourful signs dangle above the aisles, guiding him to various products. Shuichi quickly finds the instant ramen, decides not to question why there was a melon flavour, grabbs a few items, and moves on. This cycle continues until he's reached the end of his now rewritten list, and he looks over to find the cashier. She's a tanned, dark-haired girl, with vibrant blue eyes. He can't make out her name tag (he's seen her before, though). There's only one other person waiting to pay - a short, choppy haired boy who's, oddly enough, holding nothing than around a dozen bottles of purple soda. His wallet is held in his mouth, and a student ID is just about visible within it.  _OUMA KOKICHI._

"Ah, Ouma?" Saihara says hesitantly. He's never done anything like this before, maybe Ouma won't appreciate being - 

Kokichi turns around, his bored expression soon splitting into a bright grin, even with the wallet in his mouth. 

"Shuichi! What a coincidence, meeting you here! Or maybe it isn't? I actually have agents from my organisation stationed everywhere - we'll kidnap you and hold you for ransom!" the purple-eyed boy says delightedly, shoving his wallet in his pocket and depositing the sodas in front of the cashier, who has not stopped smiling. After a brief pause, during which Saihara tries to make sense of what had just happened, Ouma shrugs and begins to inspect his fingernails.

"Nah, just kidding. It's against our policy. None of my members would hurt another person. We're, like,  _super_ anti-violence." Kokichi decides, a sly smile growing on his face. Even if he hadn't been lying, Saihara would've it incredibly hard to take the other male seriously, considering he was about to spend several thousand yen on nothing but grape Panta, which Saihara decides to point out.

"Uhm, Kokichi, are you buying anything else, or are you seriously just getting -  twelve thousand yen's worth of soda?" Shuichi asks slowly brows furrowed. 

Ouma looks at him, laughing softly and placing twelve thousand yen in front of the cashier, who takes it with a shrug. "Well, of course! In my organisation, it's the only thing we're allowed to drink! Every meal of the day, we drink the sacred Panta! That's why I need all of this - supplies have to be replenished, y'know?" 

Saihara raises an eyebrow at that, and though it's nowhere near one of Kokichi's most outrageous lies, - it's long ago become an unspoken rule to  _never_ speak about April 8th again - it's certainly a strange one. In fact, seeing Kokichi in a random convenience store at 12:42am is kinda strange in itself. Despite the late-night texts and spontaneous phone calls, Saihara's simply never taken Kokichi for the kind of person to waste his time like this. In fact, Kokichi doesn't even live nearby (does he? things like that don't tend to stay in his -)

"Hey, Kokichi - this store isn't even near your house," he muses out loud, as the blue-eyed cashier begins to scan in his items. "Why are you even here?"

The purple-haired boy pretends to think this over for a while with a finger to his chin, but the glint in his eyes gives his act away. "You see, Shuichi - Himiko is, like,  _totally_   failing English, and since I speak so many languages because of all the government ties I have, she asked me to help her study. Text her if you want, but it's the truth. Anyway - she didn't buy enough Panta, I'm staying over for another couple days, so I figured I'd go buy some. That a good enough reason for you?"

It definitely makes sense, but the smirk rising on Kokichi's face was unsettling. Himiko  _did_ have bad grades in English, and Kokichi  _was_ the best at it in their class (languages in general, actually)  - so, for once, it seemed like the truth. Besides - when Kokichi lies and tricks them, he usually says something far more outrageous ; the notion that he was just helping Yumeno study seems too normal, too tame to be another one of his tall tales. 

"Ah, alright, I guess." Saihara says softly, grabbing his groceries and smiling at the cashier. "Himiko's place is actually pretty near mine. We could walk back there now, if you want? I'll go home either way, though, since I can't let some of this get warm..." (does it really matter, though? Kokichi's his friend, so - )

Kokichi looks at Shuichi carefully, lips parted as if he's about to say something and need to think it over. But no words come out, and he instead smiles, a radiant grin that looks odd and stiff in the glare of the store's lights.

"Sorry to ruin your anime-girl fantasies, Saihara, but there's still some stuff I need to buy," Kokichi giggles, moving his hands dynamically as he speaks. The sound of his laughter vaguely resembles a sound a horse might make, a quality that has been with the purple-eyed boy as long as Saihara has known him (and hey, that's a while by now). "Besides, I don't want any my rivals finding out that we know each other and using you as leverage against me. That'd be super boring, since you'd make terrible bait." Kokichi muses, that uncanny smile still on his face.

The crickets sing out, loud and clear on that quiet July night. Staring up at the sky, Shuichi wonders if the spark he saw was a star or just a plane passing overhead (he supposes he must already know, but can't remember?)

 _Ah, but it can't be a star,_ he decides 

_The stars don't shine over Tokyo._

  ~~(stars are for wishing and his never come true)~~

* * *

_text from Himiko Yumeno at 8:34am, July 13th_

_**hey Kokichi, mind coming over for a couple days? i need help with my English and Angie's busy.** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I originally planned to write something completely different for this chapter, but changed my mind at the last minute. I hope this is better than that previous idea.


	3. July 15th

* * *

 

_[hi, Shuuichi! Amami and I were thinking of going to that new bubble tea place at 1 today. we can all meet at your place and walk?]_

Bleary eyed, Shuuichi Saihara looks down at his violently buzzing phone, raising a hand to shield his eyes from the glaring, blueish light. Yellow-grey eyes glance at the time displayed on the screen; seven thirty-four in the morning, and far too early to even  _think_ about anything but going back to sleep. However, this is Kaede, and considering he hadn't seen her for almost two weeks (and Rantarou for over one), he feels inclined (he's never really been able to turn her down anyway) to respond with a

_[yeah, sounds fun]._

By that point, his eyes have (barely) adjusted to the sunlight filtering through his curtains, and despite what the tired, unproductive part of him demands, he decides to rouse himself and make breakfast (or something). After all, there isn't much use in being awake this early if he isn't going to do anything, right? As he cracks eggs for an omelette, he begins to make mental notes - to call Shinguuji about their chemistry project, as well asking him when that Meiji Restoration essay was due, check if Momota and Harukawa are free soon, ask for Gonta's -- ah. Lost in thoughts about schoolwork that wasn't relevant for almost two months and friends he sees all the time, he's burned his omelette. It ends up tasting fine, as long as he avoids the black parts.

* * *

Kaede's hair, normally cascading down her shoulders, has been pulled into a loose ponytail (though she still wears her music note clips - she never really takes them off). She wears a short-sleeved, pale pink dress and a radiant smile, eyes lighting up at the sight of Shuuichi. Beside her, Rantarou stands, rubbing his avocado green hair with one hand and gesturing with the other. They both seem to be chatting animatedly, though Shuichi could only pick out the words 'game show', 'nail polish' and 'shotput ball'. 

 

"We can talk about that episode later; look, Saihara's here," Amami begins, eyes shifting towards Shuichi and lips curving in a smile. "Let's get going, hm? I'm already kinda tired of this heat. It's giving me a headache, and I've only been outside for ten minutes." the male jokes, running a hand through his hair with a sigh.

As they walk, they made casual conversation, mostly about plans for the rest of summer. The crickets hum in the grass, and every so often a bird swoops down onto one. 

"Hey, when Obon rolls around, we should all meet up. I'm sure my sisters can make do without me for a few hours." Amami suggests, extending a hand diplomatically and looking at Shuichi for approval. He mulls this over for a moment - he doesn't technically have plans, and there were usually enough firework displays that they could find one everyone was free for. Shuuichi voices these exact thoughts to his companions, finishing his sentence shortly before they reached the cafe. A sign on its window reads 'free wifi', another advertising their (much needed, in the thick summer heat) air conditioning.

♡

Rifling through her bag with one hand and holding her peach tea with the other, Kaede mumbles something about music sheets, Angie, Claire de Lune and origami paper. Shuichi, meanwhile, glances at his phone, a few texts waiting on his screen.

**kiyo shinguuji at 13:03**

_[I'm in Kyoto with my sister until the 17th. I'll be free to discuss the project after that, so call me.]_

**kaito ☆ at 12:57**

_[should I get a dog]_

_[like really, ill name it Orion or something]_

Rantaro looks over at Saihara, an amused expression rising on his face. He's reading over his shoulder, but keeps a careful distance (he's always kind of distant, really).

"You're lucky you have Kiyo as your partner. I'm with Ouma and every time we meet up he just ropes me into buying him that chemical drink he loves."

Saihara laughs nervously. "I get that, haha. Ouma can be, uh, a handful.

Kaede, now grasping a (slightly crumpled) piece of sheet music triumphantly (he doesn't need to ask, it's Claire de Lune), turns her attention to this conversation. She didn't say anything, simply listening to Rantarou and Shuuichi speak (she's a good listener; maybe it comes with being a musician?)

"I'm with Maki," she says cheerfully, shrugging and putting the sheet music back into her bag. "We're planning to work on it tomorrow."

There's a brief pause as the three of them delight in the chill the overhead fans and iced drinks bring, the chatter of the other customers merging into vague speech. The buzz of Rantarou's phone interrupts this with a soft ring. The male frowns down at it, standing up quickly and gesturing to the door .

"It's one of my sisters," he says, pointing to the screen, "You guys mind if I take this…?"

Akamatsu waves him off, and the greenhaired boy makes his way outside, weaving through the tables. She stares at her tea for a moment and pokes an ice cube, before looking over at the menu on the wall. "Maybe we should've invited Ouma. They have grape flavour," she muses, playing with her straw. "He's so hyperactive, though, maybe putting more chemical soup into his body isn't a good idea…" she finishes with a laugh that sounds like the piano songs she loves so dearly, lavender eyes rising to meet Saihara's.

The first thing he'd noticed when he'd met Kaede were those eyes - unnatural in their colour (what was with his classmates having colours like that? He'd never figured it out), yet human and warm and alive. He'd fixed his gaze on them when she introduced herself as his shy, awkward self's classmate, and as she forcefully dragged him out of his uncertain shell (with the help of the overly confident Momota) he'd kept his eyes on hers. They were beautiful eyes, after all, even when the expression in them was sad.

Shuichi returns his attention to his tea, swirling the cup around and disturbing half-melted ice cubes. As Rantarou makes his way back towards their table, he hears Kaede's and his own phone buzz. She picks it up and swipes to open the text.

"Angie wants to know if we _all_ want to go over to her place to learn to make origami?" the blonde read aloud, raising an eyebrow. "It's in three days, and she says she'll be providing snacks."

Neither male see any issue in this (Angie does things like this all the time), so the three of them resolve to go - if not for the origami, then for the snacks.

* * *

 

"Shit, we better warn her not to let Kokichi bring any Panta."


	4. July 17th

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 3:02am

 

Kaito had, after some inelegant begging, managed to secure a pair of tents from Amami. The small apartment he lived in had no outdoor area, however, which was how he, Shuichi and Maki have ended up crowded around a home planet display in the aspiring astronaut's bedroom, with the curtains down, furniture pushed to the side and futon rolled up to make way for their impromptu camping session. Shuichi watches with unceasing awe as Kaito points out each constellation as it danced past, occasionally telling them the story behind each if Saihara or Harukawa ask. Harukawa points her index at a row of three. 

"Is that anything?"

  
"That's Orion," Kaito says brightly, gesturing towards the aforementioned constellation. "You can find it easily, since his belt - the three stars there - are pretty obvious. It's never in the sky at the same time as Scorpio. In the myth it's because Scorpio killed Orion and then Zeus put 'em on opposite ends of the sky, so Scorpio chased Orion forever."  
The image moves away, and Kaito directs his appointed sidekicks' gazes towards a new row of projected stars.  
"That's Ursa Major, though sometimes it's called the Big Dipper," he begins again, grinning widely as Shuichi and Maki listened wordlessly (it feels somewhat nostalgic, though he's not sure if he's ever done something like this with Kaito)

♡

  
Shuichi stares  at his friend's sleeping form, tired yellow eyes following the rise and fall of his chest. Though it's already been several months, he sometimes can't quite shake a gnawing feeling of anxiety, reminded of a time when the purple-haired male had coughed blood and talking had been too painful to attempt. It was only the good (and bad?) luck of their upperclassman, who, bizarrely, had found a lottery ticket for millions of yen after being kidnapped and given Kaito the money for the full course of treatment (something about 'hope'? Shuuichi was glad it was over with).  
Shuichi flinches as Momota let out a particularly loud snore, moving to avoid the male shifting in his sleep. Shuichi, on the other hand, has been finding himself less and less able to sleep in recent days, starting from the night he'd encountered Ouma in the convenience store (summer always sets him on edge)  
He waits a few minutes to ensure Kaito was asleep, slightly comforted by the steady rhythm of his breathing, and crawls carefully out of the tent they'd set up - Maki had decided to sleep alone in the other, seeming uncharacteristically flustered about spending a night in such close proximity to the two of them (probably just Kaito, really).  
Shuichi pauses at the front of her tent, checking to make sure she too remained asleep. When he hears her even breaths, he relaxes somewhat, standing and checking his pocket for the spare front door key. Upon feeling its cool metal surface, he makes his way to his friend's door, slipping on his shoes and leaving quietly (although with less grace than Maki could achieve - for someone who apparently only babysat in their spare time, she was remarkably lightfooted).

He steps out onto the street, inhaling night air still feverishly, thickly warm from the afternoon's heat. He hadn't exactly had anything planned apart from going outside, though he feels like it'd be a waste to go outdoors and walk straight back inside. It's a few flights of stairs, anyway, and Momota already made them work out.  
Saihara sits down on a bench, the soft chirruping of the early morning songbirds a welcome change from the crickets and cicadas that rung in his ears during the day almost all the time now. Absentmindedly, he tosses the spare key from palm to palm, gaze flicking back and forth as it moved like he's a spectator in one of Hoshi's tennis matches.  
At some point, the birdsong in his ears melts into a lullaby, their musical cries guiding his drooping eyes closed. 

The image behind his eyelids doesn't burn any less.

  
♡

  
Three hours later, a girl with black hair and a disapproving glare stumbles upon him, reluctantly touching the male menace in order to pry the key out of his palm and to carry him into the apartment of yet another male menace (why is there a woman here? The degenerates dot deserve to be around her!)

♡

A severely confused Saihara awakes in Momota's apartment, with the key safely in his pocket and a note taped to his forehead that read:  
"you were ruining the view during Tenko's morning run, degenerate. Tenko is disgusted she had to touch a menace's pen just to write this."

Shuichi amuses himself wondering if Maki had predicted Tenko's appearance - the Neo-Aikido enthusiast would've thrown a fit if they'd been all been sleeping in the same tent.

(It's a stupid thought, really - and it doesn't make him feel any better either.)


	5. July 18th

Shuuichi watches Kaede playing with her hairclips and humming a song he (embarrassingly, considering how often she'd play it) doesn't know the name of as they stand together outside the door of Angie's apartment, waiting for the artist to answer her door. The place is huge, and so cheap that several of their classmates have not-so-subtly tried to find out whether or not someone had died in there. 

Nobody had.

Probably.

He hears Kaede make a noise of vague annoyance beside him, interrupting her humming. She pulls out her phone to glance at the time, before looking back over to him and rolling her eyes with a playful smile.

"Hey, new record," she muses, tucking the phone back into her pocket. The pink and while bunny rabbit charm attached to it hangs out, bouncing against her hip. Saihara frowns softly, reaching absentmindedly for a hat he no longer wears.

"Ah, what is?" he asks carefully, grey eyes flicking back towards the door. Kaede's follow his gaze.

"Angie has taken a total of nine minutes so far to answer the door, beating her previous total of seven and a half." She says with a grin.

Saihara laughed sheepishly. "You… keep track of that? I mean, what if she just has a broken doorbell? We could knock." 

Kaede shakes her head, blond hair falling over her shoulder. She tucks a thick piece behind her ear and twirls it around her finger. "Well," she starts cheerily, grinning at him. "I only began actually keeping track of it since the seven and a half time. Besides, I know her doorbell isn't broken. She takes just as long when she's at Himiko's." Kaede taps her chin exaggeratedly. "I guess she's probably painting or something - you know how she is." Kaede pauses and glances over her shoulder, tilting her head. Her hair falls back over her face.. Tenko and Himiko appear from the stairwell, the martial artist carrying the self-declared mage on her back. Tenko's face seems to brighten (even more than it did with Himiko on her back) upon seeing Kaede, but almost instantly flips back to disgust. 

"Kaede! Tenko cannot believe you are spending your time with a degenerate!" Chabashira whisper-shouts, storming over to them as intimidatingly as she can with a now obviously half-asleep Himiko on her back (ah, so that was why she was holding back on the Tenko-just-saw-a-boy-rage).

Kaede raises her hands in surrender and shock, laughing softly. "Tenko, Saihara isn't a degenerate. Besides, we're just waiting for Angie."

Saihara looks from  (the now definitely asleep) Himiko to Kaede to Tenko, then to his phone. He really wishes he still had his hat. 

"Ah, maybe I should call Yonaga? She might have headphones on or something…" Saihara mumbles. Tenko shushes him whilst Kaede gives him a thumbs up (then goes back to telling Tenko something Saihara can't hear due to their lowered voices.).

Shuuichi finds the number in his phone and dialled. Angie almost never picks up, but it's still worth trying this time around. Maybe something's changed since the last time he's had to call her. Pressing the phone to his ear, he tries to keep himself occupied studying Kaede's facial expressions as the phone rings

Five seconds.

Ten.

Fifteen.

The call connects, and Angie's overly-cheery voice plays, loud enough to catch the attention of Chabashira and Akamatsu (though not enough to wake Yumeno). Shuuichi winces and turned down the volume.

_"Shuuichi! What can Angie help you with? Have you decided to seek out Atua?"_

Shuuichi laughs awkwardly. Angie was, to be polite, a large presence (even over the phone). "Actually, no. We're - Kaede, Himiko, Tenko and I - outside your door. We rang the doorbell about ten minutes ago." 

There's a pause from the other side. "Oops! Angie was painting and didn't hear over the guidance of Atua. So-rry! Angie will go open the door now." She hangs up.

Saihara chews on his thumbnail (better not let Amami see - he'll have a fit) as he waits for Angie, shoving his phone back into his pocket. Soon enough, footsteps from the other side of the door become audible, and it swings open to reveal once-whitewashed walls and wooden floorboards now covered in chalk dust and splatters of ink and oil paint. 

Tenko splutters. "Angie! Tenko cannot believe you are allowing a degenerate into your home!"

Angie presses her palms into her cheeks and smiles, wearing an expression that could either be confusion or sickly-sweet disagreement (that sounded more cliché that Saihara expected). "Hmm? Angie doesn't think Saihara is a degenerate. Atua loves everyone equally!" 

Tenko would've probably reacted more, but the noise was threatening to disturb Himiko sleep (not like she ever stopped).

- 

Saihara stares regretfully down at a the lopsided origami crane in his hands, frowning. For someone with aspirations of becoming a detective, he cant' quite figure out how Angie (and Rantarou, Kaito, Kirumi, Miu and somehow even Kokichi) make origami look so easy. He doubts he ever will, no matter how many times he's tried. Placing the crane down on Angie's table, he contents himself with stirring the ice cubes in his glass of water and watching Ouma make the fourth of his increasingly elaborate horses. Ouma's brows are furrowed in concentration, tongue poking out the side of his mouth, but his focus (was he really concentrating or just faking it?) shatters upon catching Shuuichi watching. He sets the unfinished horse on the table, folding his arms behind his head and grinning as he leans back.

"Aw, Shumai, watching me? I know I'm cute, but you could just ask. My organisation won't harm you for admiring," Kokichi gestures to his face and wink flirtatiously, "this! Or is that a lie? Maybe I'll have them kill you using origami throwing stars!"

Shuuichi laughs from behind his hand. "Ouma, I don't think origami throwing stars could kill a person if they were really just made of paper."

Ouma shakes his head firmly. "Nope, that's wrong! Paper cuts are super deadly! Everyone in my secret organisation is trained in first aid just because of the high fatality rate!"

Shuuichi blinks. They were still talking about paper cuts, right? Ah, whatever. "This is pretty paper," he comments, gesturing to the sheets laid out across the table. Some squares had pictures of music notes, others of cherry blossoms or birds. "Angie has good taste."

Ouma leans across the table, purple hair falling across his eyes. He blows at it and pushes the offending piece behind his ear. His pale fingers fidgets with a crane much neater than Saihara's attempts. "Akamatsu said something about Angie taking ten minutes to open the door," he chirps, folding and unfolding the crane's wings, "weirdly, not her record! That was seventeen and I was there. It was super boring at the time. Not fun at all!" Ouma declares, setting the crane down and picking up another. 

Saihara frowns at him, (hadn't Ouma said nineteen last time? he supposes things might've changed), but decides not to say anything. Ouma probably won't  know what he's talking about. 

"Yeah," Saihara finally replies, watching as Ouma turns over the crane, "I ended up having to call her. Kaede gives me her number, usually."

(Damn.)

Kokichi latches on to the tail end of that sentence, frowning. His purple eyes set on the top of Saihara's head. "Gives? Angie never changes her number anymore," Ouma leans over the table, nestling the paper crane next to the piece of hair on Saihara's head that's always stuck up like an antenna.  "You sound like you're trying to be one of those mysterious fanservice characters Shirogane likes. Or an evil scientist. We already have Iruma going on about Kiiboy! Don't be like that perv, Shumai!"

Ah. K1-B0, aka Kiibo. The ridiculously advanced AI that Iruma had programmed and built a body for (with the help of two of their upperclassmen). Kiibo's AI is currently living in Iruma's (heavily modified) tablet while she makes adjustments to his body. Honestly, that robot's ten times more responsible than her, and he hasn't even been alive (so to speak) that long. 

Saihara reaches up to feel for the crane on his head, gently removing it. He smiles fondly at it and looks up, meaning to thank Ouma. To his dismay, he's already disappeared (though he could hear the wannabe dictator pestering Kaito and Tsumugi in Angie's kitchen).

-

Saihara wanders throughout Angie's apartment for about an hour after that, idly chatting with classmates he hadn't seen during the summer. He and Kiyo manage to discuss their project (at least until the folklore enthusiast is whisked away by Kirumi, presumably happy to have found the only other mature person in their class). At some point, Amami sets up his nail polish kit in Angie's art room, and sure enough Angie manages to drag Saihara in. At first glance, Amami's fiddling with the metal rings on his fingers, talking to what looks like thin air. However, once Angie brings him closer to Amami, Saihara can see the faint blue glow of Kiibo's tablet behind several bottles of nail polish. Amami smiles calmly at Saihara, gesturing to the seat across from him. He turns Kiibo's tablet closer towards Shuuichi. The AI smiles politely and waves.

"You bite your nails, Saihara?" Amami asks suddenly, inspecting the boy's hands. Saihara follows Amami's line of sight, laughing sheepishly. "Ah, yeah. I don't think you've -" he cut himself off, reconsidering what he was about to say. "I didn't think anyone really noticed. I didn't pick it up that long ago."

Amami looks at him thoughtfully. "I don't think I've seen you do it during school. I saw them the other day - when we were out with Kaede, y'know? Oh, and she mentioned you were doing it while waiting for Angie just now." Amami brings out a nail file, reaching to ask for Saihara's hand. The green-haired male begins to file the ragged edges of Saihara's nails into smooth crescents, humming. "I used to do it myself, actually. I found that wearing nail polish stopped me. Pick a colour."

Saihara's eyes flicker across the array of colours, finally settling on a dark navy similar to his hair. He picks it up with his free hand, placing it beside Kiibo's tablet. "Is this one alright?" 

The thumbs-up emoji appears on Kiibo's tablet and Amami looks up, eyes landing on the bottle. He raises an eyebrow. "Colour coordination? Yeah, that'll suit you." Amami puts the nail file away and softly says something to Kiibo. He uncaps the nail polish, dipping the brush in and  beginning applying a coat to Saihara's left hand. 

Saihara watches Amami's deliberate and careful movements with interest, yellowish eyes following Amami as he painted blue and white patterns onto Saihara's nails. Between applications he turns the paper crane Ouma had placed on his head between his fingers, careful not the smudge the drying nail paint. Amami tells funnier-in-retrospect stories of his sisters' nail art endeavours, most of which resulted in ruined carpets and a lot of money spent on acetone. Kiibo laments his lack of nails to paint and with a laugh, Amami promised to paint them when Iruma was finished with his body. 

Saihara frowns down at the crane.

As pleasant as the day had been, he hopes he won't need to do this again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I ended up filling this with a lot of hints about that spoiler tag. Once again, if anyone can guess what that tag is, I applaud you.


End file.
